Official betting is any wager that is placed on a game or event with official betting odds from the governing body of the competition. In the case of sports betting, official bets are settled based on the final result from the governing body that includes injury time in both halves. This also includes any disqualification from either boxer and does not include a technical draw or a decision win.
For example, a sportsbook will set lines for 10 games each day. One of these will likely be a big rivalry game that historically creates half of the action the sportsbook takes in for the day, while another might be between two smaller market teams that traditionally only take a few percent of the overall action each day. The sportsbook will then focus on setting the best line for the game that will attract the most action.
It’s important to keep in mind that official betting rules vary from sport to sport and from sportsbook to sportsbook, but there are some standard procedures most follow. You can learn more about when your bet becomes official and the procedural policies most follow in our article on Official Betting Rules.
Generally, a sportsbook won’t pay an over/under bet that contains a negative number in the totals section, such as +49 or -49. This is because sportsbooks are run by regular people who sometimes make mistakes, and this will reflect negatively on them if it’s obvious that they’ve made a mistake on the line.